STAC  lb: 

ANNEX 


159 


ox^t^^ 


■j  M  ItfO^  IrLrS  I  ^^ 


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THE 


REGISTER 


JTarce 


By  W.    D.    HOWELLS 


BOSTON    AND    NEW   YORK 
HOUGHTON,  MIFFLIN   AND   COMPANY 

1S92 


Copyright,  18S3,  by  Harper  &  Brothers; 

AND    18S4,    BY    VV.    D.    HOWELLS. 


All  rights  reser-vcd. 


The  Riverside  Press,  Cambridge,  Mass.,  U.  S.  A. 
Printed  by  H.  O.  Houghton  &  Company. 


THE     REGISTER 
Jawe 


2062(50 


THE    EEGISTEE. 


MISS    ETHEL    REED    AND    MISS    HENRIETTA 
SPAULDIXG. 

"TN  an  upper  chamber  of  a  boarding- 
house  in  Mehmchthon  Place,  Boston, 
a  mature,  plain  young  lad}^  with  ever}^ 
appearance  of  establishing  herself  in  the 
room  for  the  first  time,  moves  about,  be- 
stowing little  touches  of  decoration  here 
and  there,  and  talking  with  another  }'Oung 
lad}^  whose  voice  comes  through  the  open 
doorway  of  an  inner  room. 


6  THE    REGISTER. 

Miss  Ethel  Reed,  from  within  :  "  What 
in  the  world  are  j'ou  doing,  Nettie  ?  " 

Miss  Henrietta  Spaulding  :  "  Oh,  stick- 
ing up  a  household  god  or  two.  What 
are  30U  doing?" 

Miss  Reed:  "  Despairing." 

Miss  Spaidding :  "Still?" 

Miss  Reed,  tragicalk  :  ' '  Still!  How 
soon  did  you  expect  me  to  stop  ?  I  am 
here  on  the  sofa,  where  I  flung  myself 
two  hours  ago,  and  I  don't  think  I  shall 
ever  get  up.  There  is  no  reason  why  I 
ever  should." 

Miss  Spaidding,  suggestively':  "Din- 
ner." 

Miss  Reed:  "  Oh,  dinner  !  Dinner,  to 
a  broken  heart !  " 

Miss  Spaidding ;  "  I  don't  believe  your 
heart  is  broken." 


THE    REGISTER.  7 

Miss  Reed:  "  But  I  tell  you  it  is  !  I 
ought  to  know  when  my  own  heart  is 
broken,  I  should  hope.  What  makes  you 
think  it  isn't?  " 

Miss  Spaulding :  "Oh,  it's  happened 
so  often  !  " 

Miss  Beed :  "But  this  is  a  real  case. 
You  ought  to  feel  my  forehead.  It 's  as 
hot/" 

Miss  Spaulding :  "  You  ought  to  get  up 
and  help  me  put  this  room  to  rights,  and 
then  3'ou  would  feel  better." 

Miss  Reed:  "No  ;  I  should  feel  worse. 
The  idea  of  household  gods  makes  me 
sick.  Sylvan  deities  are  what  /  want ; 
the  great  god  Pan  among  the  cat-tails 
and  arrow-heads  in  the  'ma'sh'  at  Ponk- 
wasset ;  the  dr3'ads  of  the  birch  woods  — 
there    are    no    oaks  —  the    n3'mphs    that 


8  THE    REGISTER. 

haunt  the  heights  and  hollows  of  the 
clear  old  mountain;    the — " 

Miss  Spaulding :  "  Wha-a-at?  I  can't 
hear  a  word  3'ou  .saj'." 

Miss  Reed:  "  That 's  because  3'ou  keep 
fussing  about  so.  Whj^  don't  3'ou  be 
quiet,  if  you  want  to  hear?"  She  lifts 
her  voice  to  its  highest  pitch,  with  a 
pause  fordistinctness  between  the  words  : 
"  I  'm  heart-broken  for  —  Ponkwasset. 
The  dryads  —  of  the  — birch  woods.  The 
nymphs  —  and  the  great — god  —  Pan — 
in  the  reeds  —  b}'  the  river.  And  all  — 
tliat  —  sort  of —  thing  !  " 

Miss  Spaulding:  "  You  know  verj' 
well  you're  not." 

Miss  Reed:  "I'm  not?  AA'hat's  the 
reason  I  'm  not  ?  Then  what  am  I  heart- 
broken for?" 


THE   REGISTER.  9 

Miss  Spaulding :  "You're  not  heart- 
broken at  all.  You  know  very  well  that 
he  '11  call  before  we  've  been  here  twenty- 
four  hours." 

Miss  Reed:  "Who?" 

Miss  Spaulding :  ' '  The  great  god 
Pan." 

Miss  Reed:  "Oh,  how  cruel  you  are, 
to  mock  me  so !  Come  in  here  and 
sj'mpathize  a  little  !     Do,  Nettie." 

Miss  Spaiddiiig :  "No;  you  come  out 
here  and  utilize  a  little.  I  'm  acting  for 
3our  best  good,  as  they  say  at  Ponk- 
wasset." 

Miss  Reed:  "When  they  want  to  be 
disagreeable  ! " 

Miss  Spaidding :  *' If  this  room  isn't 
in  order  by  the  time  he  calls,  3'ou  '11  be 
everlastii]oly  diso;raced. 


10  THE    REGISTER. 

Miss  Reed:  "I'm  that  now.  I  can't 
be  more  so — there  's  that  comfort.  What 
makes  yon  think  be  '11  call  ?  " 

Miss  Sjiaulding :  "Because  he's  a 
gentleman,  and  will  want  to  apologize. 
He  behaved  very  rudely  to  you." 

Miss  Reed:  "No,  Nettie;  /behaved 
rudely  to  him.  Yes !  Besides,  if  he 
behaved  rudelj^  he  was  no  gentleman. 
It's  a  contradiction  in  terms,  don't  you 
see?  But  I'll  tell  3'ou  what  I'm  going 
to  do  if  he  comes.  I  'm  going  to  show  a 
proper  spirit  for  once  in  my  life.  I  'm 
going  to  refuse  to  see  him.  You've  got 
to  see  him." 

Miss  Spend  ding  :     "Nonsense  !  '^ 

Miss  Reed:  "Why  nonsense?  Oh, 
why  ?     Expound  !  " 

Miss  Spaulding :  "Because  he  wasn't 


THE    REGISTER.  11 

rude  to  me,  and  he  does  n't  want  to  see 
me.  Because  I  'm  plain  and  you  're 
pretty." 

Miss  Reed :  * '  I  'm  nol !  You  know  it 
perfectly  well.     I  'm  hideous  !  " 

Miss  Spaulding:  "Because  I'm  poor, 
and  you  're  a  person  of  independent 
property." 

Miss  Reed:  "  Dependent  property,  I 
should  call  it :  just  enough  to  be  useless 
on!  But  that's  insulting  to  ^i/w.  How 
can  you  sa}'  it 's  because  I  have  a  little 
money  ?  " 

Miss  Spaidding  :  "  Well,  then,  I  won't. 
I  take  it  back.  I  '11  say  it 's  because 
you're  j'oung,  and  I'm  old." 

Miss  Reed:  "  You're  not  old.  You  're 
as  young  as  anybodj',  Nettie  Spaulding. 
And   you   know    I'm    not   young;    I'm 


12  THE    REGISTER. 

twent3^-seven,  if  I'm  a  da}'.  I'm  just 
dropping  into  the  grave.  But  I  can't 
argue  with  3'ou,  miles  off  so,  an}^  longer." 
Miss  Reed  appears  at  the  open  door,  drag- 
ging languidl}^  after  her  the  shawl  which 
she  had  evidentl}^  drawn  round  her  on  the 
sofa  ;  her  fair  hair  is  a  little  disoixlered, 
and  she  presses  it  into  shape  with  one 
hand  as  she  comes  forward ;  a  lovelj' 
flush  vies  with  a  heavenly  pallor  in  her 
cheeks  ;  she  looks  a  little  pensive  in  the 
arching  eyebrows,  and  a  little  humorous 
about  the  dimpled  mouth.  "  Now  I  can 
prove  that  you  are  entirely  wrong. 
Where  were  you  ?  —  This  room  is  rather 
an  improvement  over  the  one  we  had  last 
winter.  There  is  more  of  a  view "  — 
she  goes  to  the  window —  "  of  the  houses 
across  the  Place  ;  and  I  always  think  the 


THE  REGISTER.  13 

swell  front  gives  a  pretty  shape  to  a  room. 
I  'm  sorrj'  they  've  stoi)pecl  building  them. 
Your  piano  goes  ver}'  nicel}-  into  that 
little  alcove.  Yes,  we  're  quite  palatial. 
And,  on  the  whole,  I'm  glad  there's  no 
fire-place.  It's  a  pleasure  at  times  ;  but 
for  the  most  part  it 's  a  vanit}^  and  a 
vexation,  getting  dust  and  ashes  over 
everything.  Yes  ;  after  all,  give  me  the 
good  old-fashioned,  clean,  convenient 
register  !  Ugh  !  My  feet  are  like  ice." 
She  pulls  an  easy-chair  up  to  the  register 
in  the  corner  of  the  room,  and  pushes 
open  its  valves  with  the  toe  of  her  slipper. 
As  she  settles  herself  luxurioush'  in  the 
chair,  and  poises  her  feet  daintilj'  over 
the  register  :  ''Ah,  this  is  something  like  ! 
Henrietta  Spaulding,  ma'am  !  Did  I  ever 
tell  you  that  you  were  the  best  friend  I 
have  in  the  world?" 


14  THE    REGISTER. 

Miss  Spaulding^  who  continues  her 
work  of  arranging  the  room:   "Often." 

Miss  Reed:  "  Did  3'ou  ever  believe  it?  " 

Miss  Spauldimj :  "Never." 

Miss  Reed:   "Wliy?" 

Miss  Spaulding^  thoughtfuU}'  regard- 
ing a  vase  which  she  holds  in  her  hand, 
after  several  times  shifting  it  from  a 
bracket  to  the  corner  of  her  piano  and 
back :  "I  wish  I  could  tell  where  you 
do  look  best !  " 

Miss  Reed^  leaning  forward  wistfull}', 
with  her  hands  clasped  and  resting  on  her 
knees :  "  I  wish  you  would  tell  me  why 
3'ou  don't  believe  yoii  're  the  best  friend 
I  have  in  the  world  " 

Miss  Spaulding^  finally  placing  the 
vase  on  the  bracket :  ' '  Because  you  've 
said  so  too  often." 


THE    REGISTER.  15 

Miss  Reed:  "Oh,  that's  no  reason! 
I  can  prove  to  3-011  that  you  are.  Who 
else  but  3-ou  would  have  taken  in  a  home- 
less and  friendless  creature  like  me,  and 
let  her  stay  bothering  round  in  demoraliz- 
ing idleness,  while  3'ou  were  serioush' 
teaching  the  3'oung  idea  how  to  drub  the 
piano  ?  " 

Miss  Spaulding :  "  Anybody  who  want- 
ed a  room-mate  as  much  as  I  did,  and 
could  have  found  one  willing  to  pay  more 
than  her  share  of  the  lodging." 

Miss  Reed^  thoughtfulh' :  "Do  you 
think  so,  Henrietta?" 

Miss  Spaidding  ;  "  I  know  so." 

Miss  Reed:  "And  you're  not  afraid 
that  you  wrong  yourself?" 

Miss  Spaulding  :  "  Not  the  least." 

Miss  Reed:  "  Well,  be  it  so — as  they 


16  THE    REGISTER, 

say  in  novels.  I  will  not  contradict  3'ou  ; 
I  will  not  say  you  are  my  hest  friend ;  I 
will  merely  say  that  you  are  m}^  only 
friend.  Come  here,  Henrietta.  Draw  up 
your  chair,  and  put  your  little  hand  in 
mine." 

Miss  Spaulding^  with  severe  distrust : 
"What  do  you  want,  Ethel  Reed?" 

31{ss  Reed :  "I  want  —  I  want  —  to 
talk  it  over  with  3'ou." 

Miss  Spaulding^  recoiling:  "I  knew 
it!  Well,  now,  we've  talked  it  over 
enough  ;  we  've  talked  it  over  till  there 's 
nothing  left  of  it." 

3Iiss  Reed:  "Oh,  there's  everything 
left !  It  remains  in  all  its  original  enor- 
mit}^  Perhaps  we  shall  get  some  new 
light  upon  it."  She  extends  a  pleading 
hand  toward  Miss  Spaulding.     "  Come, 


THE    REGISTER.  17 

Henrietta,  m}- onl}'  friend,  shake  I — as 
the  '  good  Indians  '  say.  Let  3'our  Ethel 
pour  her  hacknej'ed  sorrows  into  jour 
bosom.  (Such  an  uncomfortable  image, 
it  always  seems,  does  n't  it,  pouring  sor- 
rows into  bosoms  !  )     Come  !  " 

Miss  Spaulding^  decidedly:  "No,  I 
won't !  And  you  need  n't  tr}*  wheedling 
an}'  longer.  I  won't  sympathize  with 
you  on  that  basis  at  all." 

Miss  Reed:  "  AVhat  shall  I  try,  then, 
if  you  won't  let  me  try  wheedling  ?  " 

Miss  Spaulding^  going  to  the  piano 
and  opening  it :  "  Try  courage  ;  try  self- 
respect." 

Miss  Reed:  "Oh,  dear  I  when  I  have  n't 
a  morsel  of  either.  Are  you  going  to 
practise,  3'ou  cruel  maid?  " 

Miss  Spaulding :    "Of  course   I   am. 


18  THE    REGISTER. 

It 's  half-past  four,  and  if  I  don't  do  it 
now  I  sha'n't  be  prepared  to-morrow  for 
Miss  Robins :   she  takes  this  piece." 

Miss  Reed:  "Well,  well,  perhaps  it's 
all  for  the  best.     If  music  be  the  food  of 

—  umph-umph  !  —  you  know  what !  — 
play  on."  They  both  laugh,  and  Miss 
Spaulding  pushes  back  a  little  from  the 
piano,  and  wheels  toward  her  friend, 
letting  one  hand  rest  slightly  on  the 
keys. 

Miss  Spanlding :  "Ethel  Reed,  you're 
the  most  ridiculous  girl  in  the  world." 

3Iiss  Reed:  "  Correct !  " 

3Ess  Spaulding :  "  And  I  don't  believe 
you  ever  were  in  love,  or  ever  will  be." 

3Iiss  Reed:  "  Ah,  there  you  wrong  me, 
Henrietta !     I  have  been,  and  I  shall  be 

—  lots  of  times." 


i 


THE    REGISTER.  19 

Miss  Spaulding :  ''Well,  what  do  you 
want  to  sa}'  now?  You  must  hurry,  for 
I  can't  lose  any  more  time." 

3Iiss  Reed:  ''  I  will  free  m}'  mind  with 
neatness  and  dispatch.  I  simph"  wish  to 
go  over  the  whole  afTair,  from  Alfred  to 
Omaha ;  and  you  've  got  to  let  me  talk 
as  much  slang  and  nonsense  as  I  want. 
And  then  I  '11  skip  all  the  details  I  can. 
Will  you?" 

3Iiss  Spaulding,  with  impatient  pa- 
tience:    ''Oh,  I  suppose   so!" 

3Iiss  Reed:  ''That's  A^ery  sweet  of 
you,  though  you  don't  look  it.  Now, 
where  was  I?  Oh,  3-es  ;  do  you  think  it 
was  forth-putting  at  all,  to  ask  him  if  he 
would  give  me  the  lessons  ? " 

Miss  Spaidding :  "It  depends  upon 
wh}'  you  asked  him." 


20  THE   REGISTER. 

Miss  Reed ;  "  I  asked  him  from  —  from 
—  Let  me  see  ;  I  asked  him  because  — 
from  —  Yes,  I  say  it  boldly ;  I  asked 
him  from  an  enthusiasm  for  art  and  a 
sincere  wish  to  learn  the  use  of  oil,  as  he 
called  it.     Yes  !  " 

Miss  Spaulding  :  "  Are  3'ou  sure?  " 

Miss  Reed:  "Sure?  Well,  we  will 
sa}'  that  I  am,  for  the  sake  of  argument. 
And,  having  secured  this  basis,  the  ques- 
tion is  whether  I  was  n't  bound  to  offer 
him  pa}"  at  the  end,  and  whether  he 
was  n't  wrong  to  take  my  doing  so  in 
dudgeon." 

Miss  Spaulding :  "  Yes,  I  think  he  was 
wrong.  And  the  terms  of  his  refusal 
were  xqyy  ungentlemanly.  He  ought  to 
apologize  most  amply  and  humbl}."  At 
a  certain  expression  in  Miss  Reed's  face, 


THE    REGISTER.  21 

she  adds,  with  severit}- :  "  Unless  3'ou  're 
keeping  back  the  main  point.  Yon  usu- 
allj'  do.     Are  3'ou?  " 

Miss  Reed:  "No,  no.  I've  told  3011 
ever}*thing  —  everj-thing  !  " 

Miss  Spaulding :  "  Then  I  sa}^,  as  I  said 
from  the  beginning,  that  he  behaved  very 
badlv-  It  was  ver}'  awkward  and  very 
painful,  but  you  've  realh'  nothing  to 
blame  3'ourself  for." 

Miss  Reed,  ruefully  :   "  No-0-0  !  " 

Miss  Spaulding :  "  What  do  you  mean 
by  that  sort  of  '  No  '  ?  " 

Miss  Reed :  ' '  Nothing." 

Miss  Spmdding,  sternl}' :  "Yes,  3'ou 
do,  Ethel." 

Miss  Reed:  "I  don't,  really.  What 
makes  you  think  I  do  ?  " 

Miss  Spaulding :  "It  sounded  verv  dis- 
honest." 


22  THE   REGISTER. 

3Iiss  Reed:  "Did  it?  I  didn't  mean 
it  to."  Her  friend  breaks  down  witli  a 
laugh,  while  Miss  Reed  preserves  a  de- 
mure countenance. 

Miss  Spaulding :  ' '  Wliat  are  you  keep- 
ing back  ?  " 

3fiss  Reed:  "  Nothing  at  all  —  less 
than  nothing !  I  never  thought  it  was 
worth  mentioning." 

Miss  Spaulding:  "  Arc  3'ou  telling  me 
the  truth?" 

Miss  Reed:  "  I  'm  telling  3-ou  the  truth 
and  sometliing  more.  You  can't  ask  bet- 
ter than  tliat,  can  you?" 

Miss  Spaidding^  turning  to  her  music 
again  :   "  Certainl}"  not." 

Miss  Reed^  in  a  pathetic  wail:  ''Oh, 
Henrietta,  do  you  abandon  me  thus? 
Well,  I  will  tell  you,  heartless  girl !    I  'vo 


THE    REGISTER.  23 

only  kept  it  back  till  now  because  it  was 
so  extremely  mortifying  to  1113'  pride  as 
an  artist  —  as  a  student  of  oil.  Will  you 
hear  me  ?  " 

Ml8s  Spaulding^  beginning  to  play : 
"Xo." 

Miss  Reed,  with  burlesque  wildness : 
"You  shall!"  Miss  S.  involuntarih' 
desists.  "  There  was  a  moment  —  a  fatal 
moment  —  when  he  said  lie  thought  he 
ought  to  tell  me  that  if  I  found  oil  amus- 
ing I  could  go  on  ;  but  that  he  did  n't 
believe  I  should  ever  learn  to  use  it,  and 
he  could  n't  let  me  take  lessons  from  him 
with  the  expectation  that  I  should. 
There  I  " 

Miss  Spaiddlng,  with  awful  reproach  : 
"And  you  call  that  less  than  nothing? 
I  've  almost  a  mind  never  to  speak  to  vou 


24  THE    REGISTER, 

again,  Ethel.  How  could  3^011  deceive 
me  so  ?  " 

Miss  Reed :  ' '  Was  it  really  deceiving  ? 
/  should  n't  call  it  so.  And  I  needed 
3'our  sj^mpathy  so  much,  and  I  knew  I 
should  n't  get  it  unless  you  thought  I  was 
altogether  in  the  right." 

Miss  Spaulding :  ' '  You  were  altogether 
in  the  wrong  I  And  it 's  you  that  ought 
to  apologize  to  him  —  on  your  bended 
knees.  How  could  you  offer  him  money 
after  that?     I  wonder  at  you,  Ethel !  " 

Miss  Reed:  "Why  —  don't  you  see, 
Nettie  ?  —  I  did  keep  on  taking  the  les- 
sons of  him.  I  did  find  oil  amusing  — 
or  the  oiUst  —  and  I  kept  on.  Of  course 
I  had  to,  off  there  in  a  farm4iouse  full  of 
lady  boarders,  and  he  the  onl}'  gentleman 
short  of   Crawford's.     Strike,    but  hear 


THE    REGISTER.  25 

me,  Henrietta  Spaulding  !  What  was  I 
to  do  about  the  half-dozen  lessons  I  had 
taken  before  he  told  me  I  should  never 
learn  to  use  oil?  Was  I  to  offer  to  pay 
him  for  these,  and  not  for  the  rest ;  or 
was  I  to  treat  the  whole  series  as  gratui- 
tous? I  used  to  lie  awake  thinking  about 
it,  I  've  got  some  little  tact,  but  I 
couldn't  find  an}'  way  out  of  the  trouble. 
It  was  a  box — 3'es,  a  box  of  the  deepest 
dye  !  And  the  whole  affair  having  got  to 
be — something  else,  don't  3'ou  know?  — 
made  it  all  the  worse.  And  if  he  'd  only 
—  onlv —  But  he  did  n't.  Not  a  sylla- 
ble, not  a  breath  !  And  there  I  was.  I 
had  to  offer  him  the  money.  And  it's 
almost  killed  me  —  the  wa}'  he  took  my 
offering  it,  and  now  the  way  you  take  it ! 
And  it's    all  of  a   piece."     Miss   Reed 


26  THE    REGISTER. 

siicldeiil}'  snatches  her  handkerchief  from 
her  pocket  and  buries  her  face  in  it.  — 
"Oh  dear  —  oh  dear!  Oh!  —  hu,  hu, 
hii !  " 

Miss  Spaulding^  relenting:  "It  was 
awkward." 

Miss  Reed:  "Awkward!  You  seem 
to  think  that  because  I  carry  things  off 
hghtly  I  have  no  feeling." 

Miss  Spaulding :  ' '  You  know  I  don't 
think  that,  Ethel." 

Miss  Reed^  pursuing  her  advantage : 
"I  don't  know  it  from  you,  Nettie.  I  've 
tried  and  tried  to  pass  it  off  as  a  joke, 
and  to  treat  it  as  something  funny ;  but 
I  can  tell  you  it's  no  joke  at  all." 

Miss  Spaulding^  sympatheticallj' :  "I 
see,  dear." 

Miss  Reed:  "It's  not  that  I  care  for 
him  —  " 


THE    REGISTER.  27 

Miss  Spaulding :  "Why,  of  course." 

Miss  Reed:  '•  For  I  don't,  in  the  least. 
He  is  horrid  every  way  :  bhint,  and  rude, 
and  horrid.  I  never  cared  for  hirn.  But 
I  care  for  iU3'self !  He  has  put  me  in  the 
position  of  having  done  an  unkind  thing 
—  an  unladylike  thing  —  when  I  was  only 
doing  what  I  had  to  do.  Why  need  he 
have  taken  it  the  wa}'  he  did?  Why 
could  n't  he  have  said  politely  that  he 
could  n't  accept  the  mone}'  because  he 
had  n't  earned  it?  Even  that  would  have 
been  mortif3'ing  enough.  But  he  must 
go  and  be  so  violent,  and  rush  off,  and  — 
Oh,  I  never  could  have  treated  anybod}' 
so !  " 

Miss  Spauldinr/  :  "  Not  unless  you  were 
very  fond  of  them." 

Miss  Reed:  "What?" 


28  THE    REGISTER. 

Miss  Spaulding:  "  Not  unless  you  were 
very  fond  of  them." 

Miss  Reed^  putting  away  her  handker- 
chief: "  Oh,  nonsense,  Nettie  !  He  never 
cared  anything  for  me,  or  he  could  n't 
have  acted  so.  But  no  matter  for  that. 
He  has  fixed  everything  so  that  it  can 
never  be  got  straight  —  never  in  the 
world.  It  will  just  have  to  remain  a 
hideous  mass  of  —  of  —  /  don't  know 
':vhat;  and  I  have  simply  got  to  go  on 
Vrithering  with  despair  at  the  point  where 
I  left  off.  But  I  don't  care!  That's 
one  comfort." 

Miss  Spaidding:  "  I  don't  believe  he'll 
let  3'ou  wither  long,  Ethel." 

Miss  Reed:  ''He's  let  me  wither  for 
twenty-four  hours  alread}' !  But  it 's 
nothing  to  me,  now,  how  long  he  lets  me 


THE    REGISTER.  29 

wither.  I  'm  perfectlj-  satisfied  to  have 
the  affair  remain  as  it  is.  I  am  in  the 
right,  and  if  he  comes  I  sliall  refuse  to 
see  him." 

Miss  Spaulding :  '"Oh  no,  you  won't, 
Ethel !  " 

Miss  Reed:  "Yes,  I  shall.  I  shall  re- 
ceive him  ver}'  coldl}'.  I  won't  listen  to 
an}'  excuse  from  him." 

Miss  Spaulding:  "  Oh  yes,  3'ou  will, 
Ethel !  " 

Miss  Reed:  "No,  I  shall  not.  If  he 
wishes  me  to  listen  to  him  he  must  begin 
b}'  humbling  himself  in  the  dust  —  jes, 
the  dust,  Nettie  !  I  won't  take  anything 
short  of  it.  I  insist  that  he  shall  realize 
that  I  have  suffered." 

3Iiss  Spaulding :  "  Perhaps  he  has  suf- 
fered too ! " 


30  THE   REGISTER. 

Miss  Reed:  ''  Oh,  he  suffered  !  " 

Miss  Spaulding :  "  You  know  that  he 
was  perfectl}'  devoted  to  you." 

Miss  Reed :  "  He  never  said  so." 

Miss  Spaidding :  "Perhaps  he  did  n't 
dare." 

Miss  Reed :  "He  dared  to  be  veiy 
insolent  to  me." 

3Iiss  Spaulding :  "  And  a'ou  know  3'ou 
liked  him  very  much." 

3Ilss  Reed:  "  I  won't  let  3'ou  sa}^  that, 
Nettie  Spaulding.  I  didnt  like  him.  I 
respected  and  admired  him  ;  but  I  did  n't 
like  him.  He  will  never  come  near  me  ; 
but  if  he  does  he  has  got  to  begin  by  — 
b}'  —  Let  me  see,  what  shall  I  make  hhn 
begni  by  doing?  "  She  casts  up  her  eyes 
for  inspiration  while  she  leans  forward 
over  the  register.  "Yes,  I  will!  He 
has  got  to  begin  by  taking  that  money ! " 


THE    REGISTER.  31 

Jf/ss  Spaulding :  "Ethel,  you  wouldn't 
put  that  affront  upon  a  sensitive  and  high- 
spirited  man  !  " 

Miss  Reed:  "  Would  n't  I  ?  You  wait 
and  see,  Miss  Spaulding  !  He  shall  take 
the  money,  and  he  shall  sign  a  receipt 
for  it.  I  '11  draw  up  the  receipt  now,  so 
as  to  have  it  read}',  and  I  shall  ask  him 
to  sign  it  the  moment  he  enters  this  door 
—  the  ver}^  instant !  "  She  takes  a  port- 
folio from  the  table  near  her,  without  ris- 
ing, and  writes  :  "  '  Received  from  Miss 
Ethel  Reed  one  hundred  and  twent3'-five 
dollars,  in  full,  for  twenty-five  lessons  in 
oil-painting.'  There  —  when  Mr.  Oliver 
Ransom  has  signed  this  little  document 
he  ma}'  begin  to  talk  ;  not  before  !  "  She 
leans  back  in  her  chair  with  an  air  of 
pitiless  determination. 


32  THE   REGISTER. 

Miss  Spaulding  :  "  But,  Ethel,  ^'Oii 
don't  mean  to  make  him  take  money  for 
the  lessons  he  gave  3'ou  after  he  told  3'ou 
you  could  n't  learn  anything?  " 

Miss  Reed^  after  a  moment's  pause : 
"Yes,  I  do.  This  is  to  punish  him.  I 
don't  wish  for  justice  now ;  I  wish  for 
vengeance  !  At  first  I  would  have  com- 
promised on  the  six  lessons,  or  on  none 
at  all,  if  he  had  behaved  niceh' ;  but  after 
what's  happened  I  shall  insist  upon  pay- 
ing him  for  every  lesson,  so  as  to  make 
him  feel  that  the  whole  thing,  from  first 
to  last,  was  a  purely  business  transaction 
on  m}'  part.    Yes,  2i  purely  —  business  — 

TRANSACTION  !  " 

Miss  Spmdding,  turning  to  her  music : 
"  Then  I've  got  nothing  more  to  say  to 
you,  P:thel  Reed." 


THE   REGISTER.  33 

Miss  Reed :  "I  don't  sa}'  but  what, 
after  he  's  taken  the  mone}^  and  signed 
the  receipt,  I'll  listen  to  anything  else 
he's  got  to  say,  very  willingly."  Miss 
Spaulding  makes  no  answer,  but  begins 
to  play  with  a  scientific  absorption,  feel- 
ing her  way  fitfully  through  the  new  piece, 
while  Miss  Reed,  seated  by  the  register, 
trifles  with  the  book  she  has  taken  from 
the  table. 


II. 

MR.   GRIKNIDGE    AND    MR.    RANSOM;    THEN 
MISS    SPAULDING   AND    MISS    REED. 

The  interior  of  the  room  of  Miss  Spanl- 
dlng  and  Miss  Eeed  remains  in  view, 
while  the  scene  discloses,  on  the  other 
side  of  the  partition  wall  in  the  same 
house,  the  bachelor  apartment  of  Mr. 
Samuel  Grinnidge.  Mr.  Grinnidge,  in 
his  dressing  gown  and  slippers,  with  his 
pipe  in  his  mouth,  has  the  effect  of  having 
just  come  in  ;  his  friend  Mr.  Oliver  Ran- 
som stands  at  the  window,  staring  out 
into  the  November  weather. 

Grinnidge :  ' '  How  long  have  3'ou  been 
waitins:  here?" 


THE   REGISTER.  35 

Ransom:  ''Ten  minutes — ten  years. 
How  should  I  know  ?  " 

Grinnidge :  "  AVell,  I  don't  know  who 
else  should.     Get  back  to-day  ?  " 

Ransom:  "•  Last  night." 

Grinnidge:  "  Well,  take  off  j'our  coat, 
and  pull  up  to  the  register  and  warm 
your  poor  feet."  He  puts  his  hand  out 
over  the  register.  "  Confound  it !  some- 
body 's  got  the  register  open  in  the  next 
room  !  You  see,  one  pipe  comes  up  from 
the  furnace  and  branches  into  a  V  just 
under  the  floor,  and  professes  to  heat 
both  rooms.  But  it  don't.  There  was 
a  fellow  in  there  last  winter  who  used  to 
get  all  mj'  heat.  Used  to  go  out  and 
leave  his  register  open,  and  I  'd  come  in 
here  just  before  dinner  and  find  this  place 
as  cold  as  a  barn.     We  had  a  running: 


36  THE    REGISTER. 

fight  of  it  all  winter.  The  man  who  got 
his  register  open  first  in  the  morning  got 
all  the  heat  for  the  day,  for  it  never 
turned  the  other  way  when  it  started  in 
one  direction.  Used  to  almost  suffocate 
—  warm,  muggy  days — maintaining  my 
rights.  Some  piano-pounder  in  there  this 
winter,  it  seems.  Hear?  And  she  has  n't 
lost  anj^  time  in  learning  the  trick  of  the 
register.  What  kept  you  so  late  in  the 
country  ?  " 

Ransom^  after  an  absent-minded  pause  : 
"  Grinnidge,  I  wish  you  would  give  me 
some  advice." 

Grinnidge:  "You  can  have  all  you 
want  of  it  at  the  market  price." 

Ransom :  "I  don't  mean  your  legal 
advice." 

Grinnidge:  "I'm  sorry.  What  have 
you  been  doing  ?  " 


THE    REGISTER.  37 

Ransom:  "I've  been  making  an  ass 
of  m3'self." 

Grinnidge :  "Wasn't  that  rather  su- 
perfluous ?" 

Ratisom  :  "If  ,you  please,  yes.  But 
now,  if  you  're  capable  of  listening  to 
me  without  any  further  clispla}'  of  3'our 
cross-examination  wit,  I  should  like  to 
tell  you  how  it  happened." 

Grinnidge :  "I  will  do  m}*  best  to 
veil  my  brilliancy.     Go  on." 

Ransom  .*  "  I  went  up  to  Ponkwasset 
early  in  September  for  the  foliage." 

Grinnidge :  "  And  staid  till  late  in  Oc- 
tober. There  must  have  been  a  reason 
for  that.  What  was  her  name  ?  Foli- 
age ?  '* 

Ransom,  coming  np  the  corner  of  the 
chimney-piece,  near  which  his  friend  sits, 


38  THE    REGISTER. 

and  talking  to  bim  directly  over  the  re- 
gister :  "  I  think  3'ou  '11  have  to  get  along 
withont  the  name  for  the  present.  I  '11 
tell  3'ou  b3'-and-b3\"  As  Mr.  Ransom 
pronounces  these  words,  Miss  Reed,  on 
her  side  of  the  partition,  lifts  her  head 
with  a  startled  air,  and,  after  a  moment 
of  vague  circumspection,  listens  keenly. 
''  But  she  wa&  beautiful.  She  was  a  blonde, 
and  she  had  the  loveliest  eyes  —  ej^es, 
you  know,  that  could  be  funny  or  tender, 
just  as  she  chose  —  the  kind  of  eyes  I 
always  liked."  Miss  Reed  leans  forward 
over  the  register.  ' '  She  had  one  of  those 
faces  that  alwa3's  leave  3'ou  in  doubt 
whether  the3'  're  laughing  at  3'ou,  and  so 
keep  you  in  wholesome  subjection  ;  but 
you  feel  certain  that  they  're  good.^  and 
that  if  they  did  hurt  you  by  laughing  at 


THE    REGISTER.  39 

3'ou,  theN'  'd  look  sony  for  3'ou  afterward. 
"When  she  walked  you  saw  what  an  ex- 
quisite creature  she  was.  It  alwa3's  made 
me  mad  to  think  I  could  n't  'paint  her 
walk." 

Grinnidge .'  "  I  suppose  3'ou  saw  a  good 
deal  of  her  walk." 

Ransom:  ''Yes;  we  were  off  in  the 
woods  and  fields  half  the  time  together." 
He  takes  a  turn  toward  the  window. 

3Iiss  Reed,  suddenly  shutting  the  regis- 
ter on  her  side  :   "  Oh  !  " 

3Iiss  Spmdding^  looking  up  from  her 
music  :   "  What  is  it,  Ethel?  " 

3Iiss  Reed :  ''Nothing,  nothing;  I  — 
I  —  thought  it  was  getting  too  warm. 
Go  on,  dear  ;  don't  let  me  interrupt  you." 
After  a  moment  of  heroic  self-denial  she 
softh'  presses  the  register  open  with  her 
foot.  . 


40  THE    REGISTER. 

Ransom.,  coming  back  to  the  register ; 
"It  all  began  in  that  wa}^  I  had  the 
good  fortune  one  day  to  rescue  her  from 
a  —  cow." 

Miss  Reed:  "Oh,  for  shame  !  " 

Miss  Spaulding.,  desisting  from  her 
piano:     "What  is  the   matter?'* 

Miss  Reed.,  clapping  the  register  to : 
"This  ridiculous  book!  But  don't  — 
don't  mind  me,  Nettie."  Breathlessl}' : 
"  Go  —  go  —  on  !  "  Miss  Spaulding  re- 
sumes, and  again  Miss  Reed  softly 
presses   the   register   open. 

Ransom,  after  a  pause  :  "The  cow  was 
grazing,  and  had  no  more  thought  of 
hooking  Miss  —  " 

Miss  Reed:  "  Oh,  I  didn't  suppose  he 
would!  —  Go  on,  Nettie,  go  on!  The 
liero  —  such  a  oroose  !  " 


THE    REGISTER.  41 

Ransom:  "  I  drove  her  awaj'  with  m}' 
camp-stool,  and  Miss  —  the  young  lady 
—  was  as  grateful  as  if  I  had  rescued 
her  from  a  menagerie  of  wild  animals. 
I  walked  home  with  her  to  the  farm- 
house, and  the  trouble  began  at  once." 
Pantomime  of  indignant  protest  and  bur- 
lesque menace  on  the  part  of  Miss  Reed. 
"There  wasn't  another  well  woman  in 
the  house,  except  her  friend  Miss  Spaul- 
ding,  who  was  rather  old  and  rather 
plain."  He  takes  another  turn  to  the 
window. 

Miss  Reed:  "Oh!"  She  shuts  the 
register,  but  instantly  opens  it  again. 
"  Louder,  Nettie." 

Miss  Spaulding.,  in  astonishment  : 
"What?" 

Miss  Reed:  "Did  I  speak?  I  did  n't 
know  it.     I  —  " 


42  THE   REGISTER. 

Miss  Spaulding^  desisting  from  prac- 
tice :  ' '  What  is  that  strange,  hollow, 
rumbling,  mumbling  kind  of  noise?" 

Miss  Reed.,  softlj"  closing  the  register 
with  her  foot :  "  I  don't  hear  an}-  strange, 
hollow,  rumbling,  mumbling  kind  of  noise. 
Do  you  hear  it  now  'f  " 

3Ess  Spcndding :  ' '  No.  It  was  the 
Brighton  whistle,  probabl}^" 

Miss  Reed:  "Oh,  very  likely."  As 
Miss  Spaulding  turns  again  to  her  prac- 
tice Miss  Reed  re-opens  the  register  and 
listens  again.  A  little  interval  of  silence 
ensues,  while  Ransom  lights  a  cigarette. 

Grinnidge:  "So  you  sought  opportu- 
nities of  rescuing  her  from  other  cows  ?  " 

Ransom.,  returning:  "That  wasn't 
necessary.  The  young  lad}^  was  so  im- 
pressed by  my  behavior  that  she  asked 


THE   REGISTER.  43 

if  I  would  give  her  some  lessons  in  the 
use  of  oil." 

Grinnidge :  "  Slie  thought  if  she  knew 
how  to  paint  pictures  like  yours  she 
would  n't  need  any  one  to  drive  the  cows 
aw^ay." 

Ransom:  "Don't  be  farcical,  Grin- 
nidge. Tliat  sort  of  thing  will  do  with 
some  victim  on  the  witness  stand  who 
can't  help  himself  Of  course  I  said  I 
would,  and  we  were  off  half  the  time 
together,  painting  the  loveliest  and  lone- 
liest bits  around  Ponkwasset.  It  all 
went  on  very  well,  till  one  day  I  felt 
bound  in  conscience  to  tell  her  that  I 
did  n't  think  she  would  ever  learn  to 
paint,  and  that  if  she  was  serious  about 
it  she  'd  better  drop  it  at  once,  for  she 
was  wastine:  her  time." 


44  THE   REGISTER. 

Grinnidge,  getting  up  to  fill  his  pipe : 
"  That  was  a  pleasant  thing  to  do." 

Ransom  ;  *" '  I  told  her  that  if  it  amused 
her,  to  keep  on  ;  I  would  be  only  too  glad 
to  give  her  all  the  hints  I  could,  but  that 
I  ought  n't  to  encourage  her.  She  seemed 
a  good  deal  hurt-  I  fancied  at  the  time 
that  she  thought  I  w^as  tired  of  having  her 
with  me  so  much," 

Miss  Reed:  ^' Oh,  did  you,  indeed!" 
To  Miss  Spaulding,  who  bends  an  aston- 
ished glance  upon  her  from  the  piano: 
"The  man  in  this  book  is  the  most  con- 
ceited creature,  Nettie.  Play  chords  — 
something  very  subdued  —  ah  !  " 

Miss  Spaulding :  *'  What  are  you  talk- 
ing about,  Ethel?" 

Ransom :  "That  was  at  night ;  but  the 
next  da}'  she  came  up  smihng,  and  said 


THE    REGISTER.  4o 

that  if  I  did  n't  mind  she  would  keep  on 
—  for  amusement ;  she  was  n't  a  bit  dis- 
couraged." 

Miss  Reed:  "Oh!— Go  on,  Nettie; 
don't  let  m}'  outbursts  interrupt  3'ou." 

Ransom  ;  "  I  used  to  fanc}'  sometimes 
that  she  ivas  a  little  sweet  on  me." 

Miss  Reed:  "You  wretch! — Oh, 
scales,    Nettie  !     Play    scales  !  " 

Miss  Spaidding:  "  Ethel  Reed,  are 
3^ou  craz}'?  " 

Ransom^  after  a  thoughtful  moment : 
"  Well,  so  it  went  on  for  the  next  seven 
or  eight  weeks.  AYhen  we  were  n't  sketch- 
ing in  the  meadows,  or  on  the  mountain- 
side, or  in  the  old  punt  on  the  pond,  we 
were  walking  up  and  down  the  farm- 
house piazza  together.  She  used  to  read 
to  me  when  I  was  at  work.  She  had  a 
heavenh"  voice,  Grinnidge." 


46  THE    REGISTER. 

Miss  Reed:  "Oh,  3^011  sill}^  sill}' 
thing  !  —  Really  this  book  makes  m€  sick, 
Nettie." 

Ransom  :  "  Well,  the  long  and  the 
short  of  it  was,  I  was  hit  —  hard,  and  I 
lost  all  courage.  You  know  how  I  am, 
Grinnidge." 

3Iiss  Reed,  softly  :  '^  Oh,  poor  fellow  !  " 

Ransom:  "So  I  let  the  time  go  by, 
and  at  the  end  I  had  n't  said  anything." 

Miss  Reed:  "No,  sir!  You  hadntf" 
Miss  Spaulding  graduall}'  ceases  to  pla}', 
and  fixes  her  attention  wholly  upon  Miss 
Reed,  who  bends  forward  over  the  regis- 
ter witli  an  intensel}'  excited  face. 

Ransom  :  "  Then  something  happened 
that  made  me  glad,  for  twenty-four  hours 
at  least,  that  I  had  n't  spoken.  She  sent 
me  the   money  for   twenty-five   lessons. 


THE    REGISTER.  47 

Imagine  bow  I  felt,  Grinnidge  !  What 
could  I  suppose  but  that  she  had  been 
quietly  biding  her  time,  and  storing  up 
her  resentment  for  my  having  told  her 
she  could  n't  learn  to  paint,  till  she  could 
pay  me  back  with  interest  in  one  supreme 
insult?" 

M\S8  Reed^  in  a  low  voice :  "Oh,  how 
could  you  think  such  a  cruel,  vulgar 
thing?"  Miss  Spaulding  leaves  the  piano, 
and  softl}'  approaches  her,  where  she  has 
sunk  on  her  knees  beside  the  register. 

Rmisom :  "It  was  tantamount  to  tell- 
ing me  that  she  had  been  amusing  herself 
with  me  instead  of  m}-  lessons.  It  re- 
manded our  whole  association,  which  I 
had  got  to  thinking  so  romantic,  to  the 
relation  of  teacher  and  pupil.  It  was  a 
snub  —  a  heartless,  killing  snub ;  and  I 


48  THE    REGISTER. 

could  n't  see  it  in  any  other  light."  Ran- 
som walks  away  to  the  window,  and  looks 
out. 

Miss  Reed^  flhiging  herself  backward 
from  the  register,  and  hiding  her  face  in 
her  hands  :  "  Oh,  it  was  n't !  it  was  n't ! 
it  was  n't !     How  could  you  think  so?  " 

Miss  Spaulding^  rushing  forward,  and 
catching  her  friend  in  her  arms  :  "  What 
is  the  matter  with  you,  Ethel  Reed? 
What  are  you  doing  here,  over  the  regis- 
ter? Are  3'ou  trying  to  suffocate  your- 
self ?  Have  you  taken  leave  of  your 
senses  ?  " 

Grinnidge :  "Our  fair  friend  on  the 
other  side  of  the  wall  seems  to  be  on  the 
rampage." 

Miss  Spaulding^  shutting  the  register 
with  a  violent  clash  :  "  Ugh  !  how  hot  it 
■'s  here !  " 


THE    REGISTER.  49 

Grwnidge :  "Doesn't  like  your  con- 
versation ,  apparentl}'." 

Miss  Reed.,  frantically  pressing  forward 
to  open  the  register:  "Oh,  don't  shut 
it,  Nettie  dear !  If  3-ou  do  I  shall  die  ! 
Do-o-n't  shut  the  register  !" 

Miss  Spaidding  :  "  Don't  shut  it  ? 
Why,  we  've  got  all  the  heat  of  the  fur- 
nace in  the  room  now.  Surely  you  don't 
want  any  more?" 

3Iiss  Reed:  "  Xo,  no;  not  an}-  more. 
But  —  but  —  Oh  dear  !  what  shall  I  do  ?  " 
She  still  struggles  in  the  embrace  of  her 
friend. 

Grinnidge.,  remaining  quietly  at  the 
register,  while  Ransom  walks  awaj'  to  the 
window  :   "  Well,  what  did  3-ou  do?  " 

Miss  Reed:  "There,  there!  They're 
commencing  again  ?     Do  open  it,  Nettie. 


00  THE    REGISTER. 

1  ivill  have  it  open  !  "     She  wrenches  her- 
self free,  and  dashes  the  register  open. 

Grinnidge  :  "Ah,  she's  opened  it 
again." 

Miss  Reed^  in  a  stage-whisper :  ' '  That 's 
the  other  one  !  " 

Ransom^  from  the  window  :  "  Do?  1*11 
tell  you  what  I  did." 

Miss  Reed:  "That 's  01— Mr.  Ransom. 
And,  oh,  I  can't  make  out  what  he's 
saying !  He  must,  have  gone  awa}'  to 
the  other  side  of  the  room  —  and  it 's  at 
the  most  important  point !  " 

Miss  Spaulding^  in  an  awful  undertone  : 
"  Was  that  the  hollow  rumbling  I  heard? 
And  have  you  been  listening  at  the  reg- 
ister to  what  the}"  've  been  saying?  Oh, 
Ethel!'' 

Miss  Reed:  "  I  have  n't  been  listein«g, 
exactly.'* 


THE   REGISTER.  51 

Miss  Spaidding :  ' '  You  have  !  You 
have  been  eavesdropping  !  " 

Miss  Reed :  "  Eavesdropping  is  listen- 
ing through  a  ke^-hole,  or  around  a  cor- 
ner. This  is  very  different.  Besides, 
it 's  Oliver,  and  he  's  been  talking  about 
me.  Hark  !  "  She  clutches  her  friend's 
hand,  and  where  they  have  crouched 
upon  the  floor  together,  pulls  her  forward 
to  the  register.  "  Oh  dear,  how  hot  it 
is !  I  wish  they  would  cut  off  the  heat 
down  below." 

Grinnidge^  smoking  peacefully  through 
the  silence  which  his  friend  has  absent- 
mindedl}'  let  follow  upon  his  last  words  : 
"Well,  you  seem  disposed  to  take  your 
time  about  it." 

Ransom:  "About  what?  Oh,  yes! 
Well  —  " 


52  THE   REGISTER, 

Miss  Reed:  '- 'vSh  I  Listen." 
Miss  Spaulding ;  "  I  won't  listen.  It 's 
shameful ;  it 's  wicked !  I  don't  see 
how  you  can  do  it,  Ethel !  "  She  re- 
mains, however,  kneeling  near  the  regis- 
ter, and  she  involuntarily  inclines  a  little 
more  toward  it. 

Ransom :  "  —  it  is  n't  a  thing  that  I 
care  to  shout  from  the  house-tops."  He 
returns  from  the  window  to  the  chimne}-- 
piece.  "  I  wrote  the  rudest  kind  of  note, 
and  sent  back  her  letter  and  her  mone}^ 
in  it.  vShe  had  said  that  she  hoped  our 
acquaintance  was  not  to  end  with  the 
summer,  but  that  we  might  sometimes 
meet  in  Boston ;  and  I  answered  that 
our  acquaintance  had  ended  already,  and 
that  I  should  be  sorry  to  meet  her  anj'- 
where  asfain." 


THE    REGISTER.  53 

Grinnidge:  "Well,  if  you  wanted  to 
make  an  ass  of  yourself,  3'ou  did  it  prettj- 
completely.'* 

Miss  Beed,  whispering :  ' '  How  witty 
he  is  !  Those  men  are  always  so  humor- 
ous with  each  other." 

Ransom:  "Yes;  I  didn't  do  it  by 
halves." 

Miss  Reed,  whispering:  "Oh,  that's 
funn}^,  too !  " 

Grinnidge:  "It  didn't  occur  to  you 
that  she  might  feel  bound  to  pa}^  you  for 
the  first  half-dozen,  and  was  embarrassed 
how  to  offer  to  pay  for  them  alone  ?  " 

Miss  Reed:  "How  he  does  go  to  the 
heart  of  the  matter  !  "  She  presses  Miss 
Spaulding's  hand  in  an  ecstasj'  of  ap- 
proval. 

Ransom :  "  Yes,  it  did  —  afterward." 


54  THE   REGISTER. 

Miss  Reed^  in  a  tender  murmur  :  "  Oh, 
poor  Oliver !  " 

Ransom :  ' '  And  it  occurred  to  me  tliat 
she  was  perfectly  right  in  the  whole 
affair." 

Miss  Reed :  "Oh,  how  generous  !  how 
noble  I  " 

Ransom :  "I  had  had  a  thousand 
opportunities,  and  I  had  n't  been  man 
enough  to  tell  her  that  I  was  in  love  with 
her." 

Miss  Reed:  "  How  can  he  say  it  right 
out  so  bluntly  ?     But  if  it 's  true  — -  " 

Ransom:  "I  couldn't  speak.  I  was 
afraid  of  putting  an  end  to  the  affair  — 
of  frightening  her  —  disgusting  her." 

Miss  Reed:  "  Oh,  how  little  they  know 
us,  Nettie  ! " 

Ransom  :  "  She  seemed  so  much  above 


THE   REGISTER.  55 

me  in  ever}' wa}'  —  so  sensitive,  so  re- 
fined, so  gentle,  so  good,  so  angelic  !  " 

Miss  Reed:  "There!  Now  do  3'ou 
call  it  eavesdropping?  If  listeners  never 
hear  an}'  good  of  themselves,  what  do 
you  sa}'  to  that  ?  It  proves  that  I  have  n't 
been  listening." 

Miss  Spaulding :  "  'Sh  !  The}' 're  say- 
ing something  else." 

Ransom  :  "  But  all  that 's  neither  here 
nor  there.  I  can  see  now  that  under  the 
circumstances  she  could  n't  as  a  lady 
have  acted  otherwise  than  she  did.  She 
was  forced  to  treat  our  whole  acquaint- 
ance as  a  business  matter,  and  I  had 
forced  her  to  do  it." 

Miss  Reed:  "  You  had^  you  poor 
thing !  " 

Grinnidge:  ""Well,  what  do  you  in- 
tend to  do  about  it?  " 


56  THE   REGISTER. 

Ransom:  "Well  —  " 

Miss  Reed:  '"Sh!" 

Miss  Spaulding :  "  'Sh  !  " 

Ransom:  " — that's  what  I  want  to 
submit  to  you,  Grinnidge.  I  must  see 
her." 

Grinnidge:  "Yes.  I'm  glad /must  n't." 

Miss  Reed,  stifling  a  laugh  on  Miss 
Spaulding' s  shoulder  :  ' '  They  're  actualh^ 
afraid  of  us,  Nettie  !  " 

Ransom:  "See  her,  and  go  down  in 
the  dust." 

Miss  Reed:  "  My  very  words  !  " 

Ransom .'  "  I  have  been  trying  to  think 
what  was  the  very  humblest  pie  I  could 
eat,  by  wa}'  of  penance  ;  and  it  appears 
to  me  that  I  had  better  begin  by  saying 
that  I  have  come  to  ask  her  for  the 
money  I  refused." 


THE   REGISTER.  57 

Miss  Reed^  enraptured  :  "  Oh  !  does  n't 
it  seem  just  like  —  like  —  inspiration, 
Nettie  ?  " 

Miss  Spaulding  :  "  'Sh  !  Be  quiet,  do  ! 
You  '11  frighten  them  away  !  " 

Grinnidge  :  ' '  And  then  what  ?  " 

Ransom  :  "  What  then?  I  do  n't  know 
what  then.  But  it  appears  to  me  that, 
as  a  gentleman,  I  've  got  nothing  to  do 
with  the  result.  All  that  I've  got  to 
do  is  to  submit  to  my  fate,  whatever 
it  is." 

Miss  Reed^  breathlessly  :  "  What  prince- 
I3'  courage  !  What  delicate  magnanim- 
it}' !  Oh,  he  needn't  have  the  least  fear ! 
If  I  could  only  tell  him  that !  " 

Grinnidge^  after  an  interval  of  medita- 
tive smoking  :  "  Yes,  I  guess  that 's  the 
best  thing  3011  can  do.     It  will  strike  her 


58  THE    REGISTER. 

fanc}',  if  she  's  an  imaginative  girl,  and 
she  '11  think  you  a  fine  fellow." 

Miss  Reed:  "  Oh,  the  horrid  thing !  " 
Grinnidge :  "If  3'ou  humble   3'ourself 
to  a  woman  at  all,  do  it  thoroughly.     If 
you  go  half-way  down  she  '11  be  tempted 
to  push  3^ou  the  rest  of  the  way.     If  3'ou 
flatten  out  at  her  feet  to  begin  with,  ten 
to  one  but  she  will  pick  3'ou  up." 
Ransom:  "  Yes,  that  was  m3'  idea." 
Miss    Reed:    "Oh,    was    it,    indeed! 
Well !  " 

Ransom:  "But  I've  nothing  to  do 
with  her  picking  me  up  or  pushing  me 
down.  All  that  I  've  got  to  do  is  to  go 
and  surrender  m3'self." 

Grinnidge:  "  Yes.  Well ;  I  guess  you 
can't  go  too  soon.  I  like  your  company  ; 
but  I  advise  you  as  a  friend  not  to  lose 
time.     Where  does  she  live?  '* 


THE   REGISTER.  59 

Ransom :  "  That 's  the  remarkable  part 
of  it:  she  Hves  in  this  house." 

Miss  Reed  and  Miss  Spmdding,  in  sub- 
dued chorus  :   "  Oh  I  " 

Grinnidge^  taking  his  pipe  out  of  his 
mouth  in  astonishment :   ''  No  !  " 

Ransom ;  "  I  just  came  in  here  to  give 
my  good  resolutions  a  rest  while  I  was 
screwing  m}-  courage  up  to  ask  for  her." 

Miss  Reed:  "Don't  3'ou  think  he's 
very  humorous?  Give  his  good  resolu- 
tions a  rest !  That 's  the  way  he  always 
talks." 

Miss  Spaulding:  " 'Sh  !  " 

Grinnidge :  "You  said  you  came  for 
my  advice." 

Ransom:  "  So  I  did.  But  I  didn't 
promise  to  act  upon  it.  Well ! "  He 
goes  toward  the  door. 


60  THE    REGISTER, 

Grinnidge,  without  troubling  himself  to 
rise  :   "  Well,  good  luck  to  3'ou  !  " 

Miss  Reed :  ' '  How  droll  they  are  with 
each  other  !  Don't  3'ou  like  to  hear  them 
talk?     Oh;  I  could  listen  all  day." 

Grinnidge,  calling  after  Ransom  :  "You 
haA^en't  told  me  your  duck's  name." 

Miss  Reed :  ''Is  that  what  they  call  us? 
Duck  !  Do  you  think  it 's  ver}^  respect- 
ful, Nettie?  I  don't  believe  I  like  it. 
Or,  3'es,  why  not  ?  It's  no  harm —  if  I 
am  his  duck  !  " 

Ransom,,  coming  back  :  "  Well,  I  don't 
propose  to  go  shouting  it  round.  Her 
name  is  Miss  Reed  —  Ethel  Reed." 

Miss  Reed :  ' '  How  can  he  ?  " 

Grinnidge:  "Slender,  willowy  part}^, 
with  a  lot  of  blonde  hair  that  looks  as  if 
it  might  be  indigenous  ?  Rather  pensive- 
looking  ?  " 


THE   REGISTER.  61 

Miss  Reed:  "Indigenous!  I  should 
hope  so ! " 

Ransom  :  "Yes.  But  she  is  n't  pensive. 
She's  awfully  deep.  It  makes  me  shud- 
der to  think  how  deep  tliat  girl  is.  And 
when  I  think  of  my  courage  in  daring  to 
be  in  love  with  her  —  a  stupid,  straight- 
forward idiot  like  me  —  I  begin  to  respect 
myself  in  spite  of  being  such  an  ass. 
Well,  I  'm  off.  If  I  sta}'  any  longer  I 
shall  never  go."  He  closes  the  door  after 
him,  and  Miss  Reed  instantly  springs  to 
her  feet. 

Miss  Reed:  "  Now  he '11  have  to  go 
down  to  the  parlor  and  send  up  his  name, 
and  that  just  gives  me  time  to  do  the 
necessar}'  prinking.  You  stay  iiere  and 
receive  him,  Nettie." 

Miss     SpcmlditKj :      "Never!      After 


62  THE    REGISTER. 

what's  happened  I  can  never  look  him 
in  the  face  again.  Oh,  how  low,  and 
mean,  and  guilt}*  I  feel !  " 

Miss  Reed,  with  surprise  :  ''  Wh}',  how 
droll !     Now  /don't  feel  the  least  so." 

Miss  SpauJding :  "  Oh,  it's  ver}' differ- 
ent with  you.      You're  in  love  with  him." 

Miss  Reed:  "  For  shame,  Nettie  !  I'm 
not  in  love  with  him." 

Miss  Spaulding :  ''And  you  can  ex- 
plain and  justify  it.  But  I  never  can 
justify  it  to  myself,  much  less  to  him. 
Let  me  go,  Ethel!  I  shall  tell  Mrs. 
McKnight  that  we  must  change  this  room 
instantly.  And  just  after  I  'd  got  it  so 
nearly  in  order !  Go  down  and  receive 
him  in  the  parlor,  Ethel.  I  can't  see 
him." 

Miss  Reed:  ''Receive  him  in  the  par- 


THE    REGISTER.  63 

lor  !  Wli}',  Nettie  dear,  3'ou  're  crazy  ! 
I  'm  going  to  accejtt  him  ;  and  how  can  I 
accept  him  —  with  all  the  consequences  — 
in  a  public  parlor?  No,  indeed  !  If  30U 
won't  meet  him  here  for  a  moment,  just 
to  oblige  me,  3'ou  can  go  into  the  other 
room.  Or,  no  —  you  'd  be  listening  to 
ever}'  word  through  the  kej'-hole,  you  're 
so  demoralized !  " 

Miss  Spauldivg :  '•-  Yes,  yes,  I  deserve 
3'our  contempt,  P^thel." 

Miss  Reed.,  laughing  :  ' '  You  will  have 
to  go  out  for  a  walk,  you  poor  thing ; 
and  I  'm  not  going  to  have  you  coming 
back  in  five  or  ten  minutes.  You  have 
got  to  sta3'  out  a  good  hour." 

Miss  Spaulding,  running  to  get  her 
things  from  the  next  room:  "Oh,  I'll 
stay  out  till  midnight !  " 


64  THE    REGISTER. 

Miss  Reed^  responding  to  a  tap  at  the 
door  :  "  Ye-e-s  !  Come  in  !  —  You  're 
caught,    Nettie." 

A  maid-servant.)  appearing  with  a  card  : 
"  This  gentleman  is  asking  for  you  in  the 
parlor,  Miss  Reed." 

Miss  Reed :  "  Oh !  Ask  him  to  come 
up  here,  please.  —  Nettie  !  Nettie  !  "  She 
calls  to  her  friend  in  the  next  room. 
"  He's  coming  right  up,  and  if  you  don't 
run  you  're  trapped." 

Miss  Spaidding^  re-appearing,  cloaked 
and  bonneted:  "I  don't  bhime  you^ 
Ethel,  comparatively  speaking.  You  can 
say  that  everything  is  fair  in  love.  He 
will  like  it,  and  laugh  at  it  in  you,  be- 
cause he  '11  like  everything  you  've  done. 
Besides,  you've  no  priaiciples,  and  I 
have.''' 


THE   REGISTER.  65 

Miss  Reed:  ' '  Oh,  I  've  lots  of  principles, 
Nettie,  but  1  've  no  practice  !  " 

Miss  Spaulding :  ' '  No  matter.  Tliere  's 
no  excuse  for  me.  I  listened  simply  be- 
cause I  was  a  woman,  and  could  n't  help 
it;  and,  oh,  what  will  he  think  of  me?" 

Miss  Reed:  ''  I  won't  give  you  awa}^ ; 
if  you  really  feel  so  badly  —  " 

Miss  Spaulding :  "Oh,  do  you  think 
you  can  keep  from  telling  him,  Ethel 
dear?  Try!  And  I  will  be  3'our  slave 
forever  !  "  Steps  are  heard  on  the  stairs 
outside.  "  Oh,  there  he  comes!"  She 
dashes  out  of  the  door  and  closes  it  after 
her,  a  moment  before  the  maid-servant, 
followed  by  Mr.  Ransom,  taps  at  it. 


III. 

MISS     REED    AND    MR.    RANSOM  ;     THEN    MR. 
GRINNIDGE. 

Miss  Reed  opens  the  door  and  receives 
Mr.  Ransom  with  well-affected  surprise 
and  state,  suffering  him  to  stand  awk- 
wardl}'  on  the  threshold  for  a  moment. 

She,  coldly  :   "  Oh  !  Mr.  Ransom  !  " 
He,  abruptlj^ :  "  I  've  come  —  " 
She :  "  Won't  3'ou  come  in  ?  " 
He,  advancing   a  few  paces   into  the 
room  :  "  I ' ve  come  —  " 

She,  indicating  a  chair  :   "  Will  you  sit 

down  ?  " 

He:    "I  must  stand  for  the  present. 


THE   REGISTER.  67 

I've  come  to  ask  you  for  that  mone}', 
Miss  Reed,  which  I  refused  yesterday,  in 
terms  that  I  blush  to  think  of.  I  was 
altogether  and  wholly  in  the  wrong,  and 
I  'm  ready  to  offer  any  imaginable  apology 
or  reparation.  I'm  ready  to  take  the 
mone}'  and  to  sign  a  receipt,  and  then  to 
be  dismissed  with  whatever  ignominy 
you  please.  I  deserve  anything  —  everj'- 
thing!" 

She:  "The  money?  Excuse  me;  I 
don 't  know  —  I  'm  afraid  that  I  'm  not 
prepared  to  pay  you  the  whole  sum  to- 
day." 

He^  hastily  :  "  Oh,  no  matter  !  no  mat- 
ter !  I  don't  care  for  the  money  now. 
I  merel}'  wished  to  —  to  assure  you  that  I 
thought  3'ou  were  pei-fectl}'  right  in  offer- 
ing it,  and  to  —  to  —  " 

She.^  "AVhat?" 


68  THE   REGISTER. 

He :  "  Nothing.    That  is  —  ah~ah— " 

She :  "It 's  extreme]}'  embarrassing  to 
have  people  refuse  their  money  when  it 's 
offered  them,  and  then  come  the  next  da}^ 
for  it,  when  perhaps  it  is  n't  so  convenient 
to  pay  it  —  very  embarrassing." 

He,  hotly:  "  Bat  I  tell  you  I  don't 
want  the  money!  I  never  wanted  it, 
and  would  n't  take  it  on  any  account." 

She:  "Oh!  I  thought  you  said  3'ou 
came  to  get  it  ?  " 

He:  "I  said  —  I  did  n't  say  —  I  meant 
■ —  that  is  —  ah  —  I  —  "  He  stops,  open- 
mouthed. 

She.,  quietl}' :  "  I  could  give  you  part 
of  the  money  now." 

He:  "  Oh,  whatever  you  like  ;  it 's  in- 
different —  " 

She :  "  Please  sit  down  while  I  write  a 


THE    REGISTER.  69 

receipt."  She  places  herself  deliberately 
at  the  table,  and  opens  her  portfolio.  ' '  I 
will  pa}'  you  now,  Mr.  Ransom,  for  the 
first  six  lessons  you  gave  me  —  the  ones 
before  you  told  me  that  I  could  never 
learn  to  do  anything." 

He^  sinking  mechanically  into  the  chair 
she  indicates  :  "  Oh,  just  as  j'ou  like  !  " 
He  looks  up  at  the  ceiling  in  hopeless 
bewilderment,  while  she  writes. 

She^  blotting  the  paper:  "There! 
And  now  let  me  offer  you  a  little  piece 
of  advice,  Mr.  Ransom,  which  ma}'  be 
useful  to  you  in  taking  pupils  hereafter." 

He^  bursting  out:  "I  never  take 
pupils ! " 

She:  "Never  take  pupils!  I  don't 
understand.     You  took  me'' 

He,  confusedly:  "I  took  you  —  yes. 


70  THE   REGISTER. 

You  seemed  to  wish  —  3'ou  seemed  —  the 
case  was  peculiar  —  peculiar  circum- 
stances." 

She^  with  severit}^ :  ''May  I  ask  why 
the  circumstances  were  peculiar?  I  saw 
nothing  peculiar  about  the  circumstances. 
It  seemed  to  me  it  was  a  very  simple 
matter.  I  told  you  that  I  had  always 
had  a  great  cui'iosit}'  to  see  whether  I 
could  use  oil  paints,  and  I  asked  j-ou  a 
very  plain  question,  whether  3'ou  would 
let  me  study  with  you.     Did  n't  I?  " 

He:    "Yes." 

She:  "Was  there  anj'thing  wrong  — 
anythmg  queer  about  my  asking  you  ?  " 

He:  "No,  no!  Not  at  all  —  not  in 
the  least." 

She :  "  Did  n't  you  wish  me  to  take  the 
lessons  of  you  ?  If  3'ou  did  n't,  it  w\as  n'l 
kind  of  you  to  let  me." 


THE    REGISTER.  71 

He:  "Oh,  I  was  perfecth'  willing — • 
very  glad  indeed,  veiy  much  so — cer- 
tainly ! " 

She  :  "If  it  was  n't  3'our  custom  to  take 
pupils,  3'ou  ought  to  have  told  me,  and  I 
would  n't  have  forced  myself  upon  3'ou." 

^6,  desperateh* :  "It  wasn't  forcing 
3'ourself  upon  me.  The  Lord  knows  how 
humbl}'  grateful  I  was.  It  was  like  a 
hope  of  heaven  !  " 

She:  "Really,  Mr.  Ransom,  this  is 
ver}'  strange  talk.  What  am  I  to  under- 
stand by  it?  Whf/  should  you  be  grateful 
to  teach  me !  Wh}-  should  giving  me 
lessons  be  like  a  hope  of  heaven  ?  " 

He:  "Oh,  I  will  tell  you  !  " 

She:  "Well?" 

ffe,  after  a  moment  of  agon}- :  ' '  Be- 
cause to  be  with  vou  —  " 


72  THE    REGISTER. 

She:  "Yes?" 

He:  "  Because  I  wished  to  be  with 
you.  Because  —  those  days  in  the  woods, 
when  3'Ou  read,  and  I  —  " 

She:  "  Painted  on  ni}'  pictures  — " 

He:  "Were  the  happiest  of  my  life. 
Because  —  I  loved  3'ou  !  " 

She:  "Mr.  Ransom!" 

He:  ^^  Yes,  I  must  tell  you  so.  I  loved 
you  ;  I  love  you  still.  I  shall  always  love 
you,  no  matter  what  — " 

She :  ' '  You  forget  j^ourself,  Mr.  Ran- 
som. Has  there  been  anything  in  my 
manner  —  conduct — to  justif}'  you  in 
using  such  language  to  me  ?  " 

He:  "No  — no— " 

She:  "Did  you  suppose  that  because 
I  first  took  lessons  of  you  from  —  from 
—  an  enthusiasm  for  art,  and  then  con- 


THE    REGISTER.  73 

tinned  them  for  —  for  —  amusement,  that 
I  wished  you  to  make  love  to  me  ?  " 

He:  "No,  I  never  supposed  such  a 
thhig.  I  'm  incapable  of  it.  I  beseech 
3'ou  to  beUeve  that  no  one  could  have 
more  respect  —  reverence  —  "  He  twirls 
his  hat  between  his  hands,  and  casts  an 
imploring  glance  at  her. 

She:  "  Oh,  respect  —  reverence  !  I 
know  what  the}'  mean  in  the  mouths  of 
men.  If  3'ou  respected,  if  you  reverenced 
me,  could  you  dare  to  tell  me,  after  my 
unguarded  trust  of  you  during  the  past 
months,  that  you  had  been  all  the  time 
secretl}'  in  love  with  me  ?  " 

He^  plucking  up  a  little  courage:  "I 
don't  see  that  the  three  things  are  incom- 
patible." 

She :  "Oh,  then  you  acknowledge  that 


74  THE    REGISTER. 

3'oii  did  presume  upon  something  j'ou 
thought  3^ou  saw  in  me  to  tell  me  that 
3'ou  loved  me,  and  that  jou  were  in  love 
with  me  all  the  time?" 

He^  contritely  :  "I  have  no  right  to 
suppose  that  you  encouraged  me ;  and 
yet  —  I  can't  den}"  it  now  —  I  was  in  love 
with  3'ou  all  the  time." 

She  :  "  And  you  never  said  a  word  to 
let  me  believe  that  30U  had  any  such  feel- 
ing toward  me ! " 

He:  "I  — I  —  " 

She:  "You  would  have  parted  from 
me  without  a  syllable  to  suggest  it  — 
perhaps  parted  from  me  forever?  "  After 
a  pause  of  silent  humiliation  for  him  : 
"Do  3'Ou  call  that  brave  or  generous? 
Do  you  call  it  manly  —  supposing,  as  you 
hoped,  that  /had  an.y  such  feeling?" 


THE    REGISTER.  75 

He:  "  Xo ;  it  was  cowardly,  it  was 
mean,  it  was  iinmanl}'.  I  see  it  now, 
but  I  will  spend  m}'  life  in  repairing  the 
wrong  if  you  will  onl}'  let  me."  He  im- 
petuousl}^  advances  some  paces  toward 
her,  and  then  stops,  arrested  bj-  her 
irresponsive  attitude. 

She^  with  a  light  sigh,  and  looking 
down  at  the  paper,  which  she  has  con- 
tinued to  hold  between  her  hands : 
' '  There  was  a  time  —  a  moment  —  when 
I  might  have  answered  as  3'ou  wish." 

He:  "Oh!  then  there  will  be  again. 
If  you  have  changed  once,  you  ma}' 
change  once  more.  Let  me  hope  that 
some  time  —  any  time,  dearest  —  " 

She^  quenching  him  with  a  look  : 
"Mr.  Ransom,  I  shall  never  change 
toward  vou  !     You  confess  that  vou  had 


76  THE    REGISTER. 

3' our  opportunity,  and  that  you  de- 
spised it." 

He:  "  Oh  !  not  despised  ! " 

She:  "  Neglected  it." 

He:  "Not  wilfull}'  —  no.  I  confess 
that  I  was  stupidly,  vilely,  pusillan  — 
pusillan  —  illani  —  " 

She:   '"Mously  — " 

He  :  "  Thanks  —  'mously  unworthy  of 
it ;  but  I  did  n't  despise  it ;  I  did  n't 
neglect  it ;  and  if  3'ou  will  onl}^  let  me 
show  b}'  a  lifetime  of  devotion  how  dearly 
and  truly  I  have  loved  you  from  the  first 
moment  I  drove  that  cow  awa}'  —  " 

She:  "Mr.  Ransom,  I  have  told  you 
that  I  should  never  change  toward  aou. 
That  cow  was  nothing  when  weighed  in 
the  balance  against  3'our  being  willing  to 
leave  a  poor  girl,  whom  you   supposed 


THE    REGISTER.  11 

interested  in  you,  and  to  whom  3'ou  had 
paid  the  most  marked  attention,  without 
a  word  to  show  her  that  3-ou  cared  for 
her.  What  is  a  cow,  or  a  whole  herd  of 
cows,  as  compared  with  obUging  a  young 
lad}'  to  offer  30U  mone}'  that  you  had  n't 
earned,  and  then  savagely  flinging  it  back 
in  her  face  ?  A  yoke  of  oxen  would  be 
nothing  —  or  a  mad  bull." 

He:  "Oh,  I  acknowledge  it!  I  con- 
fess it." 

She :  ' '  And  you  own  that  I  am  right 
in  refusing  to  listen  to  you  now  ?  " 

Be,  desolate I3' :   ''  Yes,  yes." 

She:  ''It  seems  that  you  gave  me 
lessons  in  order  to  be  with  me,  and  if 
possible  to  interest  me  in  you ;  and 
then  3'ou  were  going  awa}'  without  a 
word." 


78  THE    REGISTER. 

He.,  with  a  groan :  "  It  was  onty  because 
I  was  afraid  to  speak." 

She:  "  Oil,  is  that  any  excuse?" 

He:  "  No  ;  none." 

She:  "  A  man  ought  alwaj's  to  have 
courage."  After  a  pause,  in  which  he 
stands  before  her  with  bowed  head : 
"  Then  there  is  nothing  for  me  but  to 
give  you  this  money." 

He.,  with  sudden  energ}- :  "  This  is  too 
much  !     I  —  " 

She^  offering  him  the  bank-notes  :  ' '  No  ; 
it  is  the  exact  sum.  I  counted  it  very 
care  full}'." 

He:  "I  won't  take  it;  I  can't!  I'll 
never  take  it !  " 

She.,  standing  with  the  monej^  in  her 
outstretched  hand:  "I  have  your  word 
as  a  gentleman  that  you  will  take  it." 


THE    REGISTER.  79 

He.,  gasping  :  ''  Oh,  well  —  I  will  take 
it —  I  will —  "  He  clutches  the  money, 
and  rushes  toward  the  door.  "  Good- 
evening  ;  ah  —  good-by  —  " 

/S/^e,  calling  after  him:  "The  receipt, 
Mr.  Ransom  !  Please  sign  this  receipt ! " 
She  waves  the  paper  in  the  air. 

He:  "Oh,  yes,  certainl}- !  Where  is 
it  —  what  —  which  —  "  He  rushes  back 
to  her,  and  seizing  the  receipt,  feels 
bhndly  about  for  the  pen  and  ink. 
"Where  shall  I  sign?" 

She:  "  Read  it  first." 

He:  "  Oh ,  it 's  all  —  all  right  —  " 

She:  "  I  insist  npon  your  reading  it. 
It 's  a  business  transaction.  Read  it 
aloud." 

He,  desperately:  "Well,  well!"  He 
reads.     "  '  Received  from  Miss  Ethel  Reed 


80  THE    REGISTER. 

in  full,  for  twenty-five  lessons  in  oil-painting^ 
one  hundred  and  twenty  five  dollars,  and  her 
hand,  heart,  and  dearest  love  forever.''  "  He 
looks  up  at  her.     "Ethel!" 

She,  smiling  :  ' '  Sign  it,  sign  it !  " 

He,  catching  her  in  his  arms  and  kiss- 
ing her  :   "Oh  yes  —  here  I " 

She,  pulling  a  little  awa}^  from  him, 
and  laughing:  "Oh,  oh!  I  only  wanted 
one  signature  !  Twenty  autographs  are 
too  many,  unless  you  '11  let  me  trade  them 
off,  as  the  collectors  do." 

He:  "  No  ;  keep  them  all !  I  could  n't 
think  of  letting  any  one  else  have  them. 
One  more  !  " 

She:  "  No  ;  it's  quite  enough  !  "  She 
frees  herself,  and  retires  beyond  the  table. 
"  This  unexpected  affection  —  " 

He:  "  75  it  unexpected  —  seriously  V " 


THE    REGISTER.  81 

She:  "  What  do  you  mean?" 

He:  "Oh,  nothing!" 

She:  "Yes,  tell  me  !  " 

He:  "I  hoped  —  I  thought  —  perhaps 

—  that  3'ou  might  have  been  prepared  for 
some  such  demonstration  on  my  part." 

She  :  ' '  And  why  did  you  think  —  hope 

—  perhaps  —  that,   Mr.    Ransom,  may  I 
ask?" 

He:  "  If  I  hadn't,  how  should  I  have 
dared  to  speak  ?  " 

She:  "Dared?  You  were  obliged  to 
speak !  Well,  since  it 's  all  over,  I  don't 
mind  saying  that  I  did  have  some  slight 
ai^prehensions  that  something  in  the  way 
of  a  declaration  might  be  extorted  from 
you." 

He:    "Extorted?     Oh!"     He   makes 
an  impassioned  rush  toward  her. 
6 


82  THE    REGISTER. 

She^  keeping  the  table  between  them  : 
"No,  no." 

He  :  "  Oh,  I  merely  wished  to  ask  why 
yon  chose  to  make  me  suffer  so,  after  I 
had  come  to  the  point." 

She:  "  Ask  it  across  the  table,  then." 
After  a  moment  of  reflection.  "  I  made 
3'ou  suffer  —  I  made  3  on  suffer  —  so  that 
you  might  have  a  reahzing  sense  of  what 
3'ou  had  made  me  suffer." 

He,  enraptured  b\^  this  confession : 
"Oh,  you  angel!" 

She,  with  tender  magnanimity  :  "  No  ; 
only  a  woman  —  a  poor,  trusting,  foolish 
woman  ! "  She  permits  him  to  surround 
the  table,  with  imaginable  results.  Then, 
with  lier  head  on  his  shoulder.  "  You'll 
rzerer  let  me  regret  it,  will  you,  drilling? 
You  '11  never  oblige   me  to  punisli   30U 


THE    REGISTER.  83 

again,  dearest,  will  3011  ?  Oh,  it  hurt  me 
far  worse  to  see  \o\xv  pain  than  it  did  3'ou 
to  —  to  —  feel  it !  "  On  the  other  side  of 
the  partition,  Mr.  Grinnidge's  pipe  falls 
from  his  lips,  parted  in  slumber,  and 
shivers  to  atoms  on  the  register.  "  Oh  ! " 
She  flies  at  the  register  with  a  shriek  of 
dismay,  and  is  about  to  close  it.  "That 
wretch  has  been  listening,  and  has  heard 
ever}"  word ! " 

j&e,  preventing  her  :  "What  wretch? 
Where?" 

^he:  "  Don't  3'ou  hear  him,  mumbling 
and  grumbling  there  ?  " 

Grinnidge :  "Well,  I  swear!  Cash 
value  of  twent3'-five  dollars,  and  untold 
toil  in  coloring  it !  " 

Ransom,  listening  with  an  air  of  m3'sti- 
fication:  "Who's  that?" 


84  THE   REGISTER. 

She:  "Gummidge,  Grimmidge — what- 
ever you  called  him.  Oh  !  "  She  arrests 
herself  in  consternation.  "  Now  I  have 
done  it ! " 

He:  "Done  what?" 

She:  "Oh  — nothing!" 

He:  "I  don't  understand.  Do  3'ou 
mean  to  say  that  my  friend  Grinnidge's 
room  is  on  the  other  side  of  the  wall,  and 
that  you  can  hear  him  talk  through  the 
register?"  She  preserves  the  silence  of 
abject  terror.  He  stoops  over  the  regis- 
ter, and  calls  down  it.  "Grinnidge! 
Hallo ! " 

Grinnidge  :  "  Hallo,  yourself!  " 

Ransom,  to  Miss  Reed:  "  Sounds  like 
the  ghostly  squeak  of  the  phonograph." 
To  Grinnidge  :  "  What 's  the  trouble?  " 

Grinnidge  :  "  Smashed  my  pipe.  Dozed 


THE   REGISTER.  85 

off  and  let  it  drop  on  this  infernal  reg- 
ister." 

Ransom.)  turning  from  the  register  with 
impressive  deliberation:  "Miss  Reed, 
may  I  ask  how  yon  came  to  know  that 
his  name  was  Gummidge,  or  Grimmidge, 
or  whatever  I  called  him  ?  " 

She:  "Oh,  dearest,  I  cari't  tell  you! 
Or  —  yes,  I  had  better."  Impulsivelj' : 
"I  will  judge  3'ou  by  myself,  /could 
forgive  you  anj'thing  !  " 

He,  doubtfully  :   "  Oh,  could  you?  " 

She:  "Everything!  I  had  — I  had 
better  make  a  clean  breast  of  it.  Yes, 
I  had.  Though  I  don't  like  to.  I  — I 
listened !  " 

He:  "Listened?" 

She:  "Through  the  register  to  —  to 

—  what  —  you  —  were  saying  before  you . 

—  came  in  here."     Her  head  droops. 


86  THE   REGISTER. 

He:  "  Then  3^011  heard  everything ? " 

She:  "Kill  me,  but  don't  look  so  at 
me  !  It  was  accidental  at  first  —  indeed 
it  was ;  and  then  I  recognized  3'our 
voice  ;  and  then  I  knew  j-ou  were  talking 
about  me  ;  and  I  had  so  much  at  stake  ; 
and  I  did  love  3'ou  so  dearly  !  You  will 
forgive  me,  darling?  It  wasn't  as  if  I 
were  listening  with  an}^  bad  motive." 

He.,  taking  her  in  his  arms  :  ' '  Forgive 
you?  Of  course  I  do.  But  you  must 
change  this  room  at  once,  Ethel ;  3'ou 
see,  you  hear  everything  on  the  other 
side,  too." 

She:  "  Oh,  not  if  3'ou  whisper  on  this. 
You  couldn't  hear  ms?"  At  a  dubious 
expression  of  his  :  "  You  didn't  hear  us? 
If  you  did,  I  can  never  forgive  you  !  " 

He:    "It  was    accidental   at   first  — 


THE   REGISTER,  87 

indeed  it  was ;  and  then  I  recognized 
your  voice ;  and  then  I  knew  3'oa  were 
talking  about  me  ;  and  I  had  so  much  at 
stake  ;  and  I  did  love  you  so  dearly  !  " 

She :  "  All  that  has  nothing  whatever  to 
do  with  it.     How  much  did  j'ou  hear?" 

He^  with  exemplary  meekness  :  "  Only 
what  you  were  saying  before  Grinnidge 
came  in.  You  did  n't  whisper  then.  .1 
had  to  wait  there  for  him  while  —  " 

She:  "While  you  were  giving  your 
good  resolutions  a  rest  ?  " 

He:  "While  I  was  giving  m}'  good 
resolutions  a  rest." 

She :  ' '  And  that  accounts  for  j'our  de- 
termination to  humble  yourself  so  ?  " 

He:  "  It  seemed  perfecth' providential 
that  I  should  have  known  just  what  con- 
ditions 3'ou  were  going  to  exact  of  me." 


88  THE   REGISTER. 

She:  "  Oh,  don't  make  light  of  it !  I 
can  tell  you  it 's  a  very  serious  matter." 

He  :  ''It  was  very  serious  for  me  when 
3'ou  did  n't  meet  m}'  self-abasement  as  you 
had  led  me  to  expect  you  would." 

She:  "Don't  make  fun!  I 'm  trying 
to  think  whether  I  can  forgive  you." 

He,  with  insinuation  :  "  Don't  j'ou  be- 
lieve you  could  think  better  if  you  put 
your  head  on  my  shoulder  ?  " 

She  .•  "  Nonsense  !  Then  I  should  for- 
give you  without  thinking."  After  a  sea- 
son of  reflection  :  ' '  No,  I  can't  forgive 
3'ou.  I  never  could  forgive  eavesdrop- 
ping.    It 's  too  low." 

He^  in  astonishment:  "Why,  3^ou  did 
it  yourself !  " 

She :  "  But  3'ou  began  it.  Besides, 
it 's  very  different  for  a  man.     Women 


THE    REGISTER.  89 

are  weak,  poor,  helpless  creatures.  They 
have  to  use  finesse.  But  a  man  should 
be  above  it." 

He:  "  You  said  you  could  forgive  me 
an3^thing." 

She:  "Ah,  but  I  didn't  know  what 
}'0u  'd  been  doing  !  " 

He^  with  pensive  resignation,  and  a 
feint  of  going :  "  Then  I  suppose  it's  all 
over  between  us." 

She^  relenting  :  "  If  j'ou  could  think  of 
any  reason  why  I  should  forgive  you  — " 

He:  "I  can't." 

She^  after  consideration  :  ' '  Do  you 
suppose  Mr.  Grumage,  or  Grimidge, 
heard  too  ?  " 

He  :  "  No  ;  Grinnidge  is  a  very  high- 
principled  fellow,  and  would  n't  listen  ; 
besides,  he  was  n't  there,  vou  know." 


90  THE    REGISTER. 

She:  "  Well,  then,  I  will  forgive  j'ou 
on  these  grounds."  He  instantl}^  catches 
her  to  his  heart.  "But  these  alone,  re- 
member." 

He.,  rapturoush' :  ^'  Oh,  on  an}' !  " 

She.,  tenderl}' :  "And  3'ou '11  alwa3's 
be  devoted?  And  nice?  And  not  try 
to  provoke  me?  Or  neglect  me?  Or 
an^'thing  ?  " 

He:  "Always!     Never!  " 

She:  "Oh,  3'ou  dear,  sweet,  simple 
old  thing  —  how  I  do  love  3'OU  !  " 

Grinnidge.,  who  has  been  hstening  at- 
tentively to  ever3'  word  at  the  register  at 
his  side:  "Ransom,  if  you  don't  want 
me  to  go  stark  mad,  shut  the  register  1 " 

Ransom^  about  to  comply  :  "Oh,  poor 
old  man  !     I  forgot  it  was  open  !  " 

M'ss 7?eec?,  preventing  him:   "No!     If 


THE    REGISTER.  91 

he  has  been  vile  enough  to  listen  at  a 
register,  let  him  suffer.  Come,  sit  down 
here,  and  I  '11  tell  you  just  when  I  began 
to  care  for  3'ou.  It  was  long  before  the 
cow.  Do  you  remember  that  first  morn- 
ing after  you  arrived  —  "  She  drags 
him  close  to  the  register,  so  that  ever}' 
word  ma}'  tell  upon  the  envious  Grin  nidge, 
on  whose  manifestations  of  acute  despair, 
a  rapid  curtain  descends. 


Mr    Howells's  mother,  whose  maiden  name 
was   Dean,   was   of   mixed  Irish  and  German 
parentage,  writes  Professor  H.  B.  Boyesen  in  a 
dp.li^htful    skotcb,  with   portraits,    under  the 
title  of  "Mr.Howells  at  Close  Range,'    m  the 
November  Ladies'  Home  Jonrnal.    Her  father 
was  of  Irish  and  Catholic  extraction,  but  her 
mother  was    a   Pennsylvania   German    and  a 
Protestant.    One  of  the  authors  early  associa- 
tions with  his  grandmother  was  the  Luther  s 
Bible,  which  was  so  often  in  her  hands.    She 
read  only  German,  and  a  Pe^-ceP^^ble  foreiu^ 
accent   lingered   lifelougr   in  her  speech.    Her 
daughter   attended   a   hi^h   school  or  female  ■ 
seminary,  jnd  had  a  fairly  good  education  as  it 
wS   in  those   days.    But  what  was  more,  she 
was  a  woman  of  a  rich,  warm   Celtic  tempera- 
men    who  cheerfully  carried  the  burden  of  her 
^rge  household,  and  was  full  of  kindness  and 
affection.    She  had  a  fine  feelins  lor  language 
fwhich  is  something  quite  dilTerent  from   facil- 
Uyin   acauiring   strange  tongues),  and  her  fo. 
mous  sou   believes  that  it  is  from  her  he  has 
nherit^d  his  sense  of  the  color  a«d  individaal- 
i^y  of   words    and  his    perception  of  linguistic 
values.  .  _ 


T.  J.  WHIDDEN.  37  Upton  street. 

[r]tc 8£__ 

TO  LET---BROOKLIPiE. 

Furnished  House  and  Stable. 

Eight   bedrooms,   all  conveniences.      Lease  for  the 
winter  or  longer  to  family  without  small  children. 

GEO.  B.  ELLIOT,  8  Congress  street. 
[r32t 0  21 

NEWTONVILLE. 

FOR  Sx\LE  OR  TO  LET, 

Honse  of  11  rooms;  all  modern  Improvements  and 
conveniences ;  3  or  4  minutes  to  depot,  stores,  cliurches; 
1  minute  to  electric  cars.    Apply  to 

A.  L.  GORDON  &  CO.. 
22  and  24  Temple  place,  Boston. 
[r:4t  o  19 


TO    LET, 

Houses  No6.  338  and  330  West  Chester  Park, 
near  Boylston  street,  in  perfect  condition. 
Possession   given  at  once. 

PJfiTEK  DAIL.Y,  809  WasMngton  street. 

[r]tc  8  30 


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^t.  J$o\i}t\i!^'^  I^otjcl^. 


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000  002  392 

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